First off, I would like to begin by saying that when I was asked to speak at this breakfast meeting for secondary school Food and Nutrition teachers, I was a bit reluctant to agree. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I honestly thought, "what can I say to you this morning about my experience as a student of The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)"? Then it hit me, "what can’t I say?", because it was just that, an experience, one that I have never had in all the years that I have been to school, and while I know that people say the tertiary education system is a completely different  environment from the lower levels of education, when it comes down to the fundamental purpose of education at any level, which is to impart knowledge, I can safely say that the 'learning' experience that I was exposed to at UTT and more specifically the Food Science and Technology (FS&T) Unit was unlike anything I had expected; "hands-on, the most enjoyable, interactive and informative learning experience that I have ever had!"

If I were to talk about one thing in particular that I have taken away from my time as a student of this University, I’d have to say that it is perspective and the reason that I say perspective is that UTT like most other learning institutions, would provide you with the theory, all that is necessary for you to become educated on the subject matter but why I believe UTT is unique is because it not only gives you this basic information…but also imparts a 360-degree and in-depth perception of the knowledge that is conveyed through practical, in-class sessions as well as an interactive learning experience that involves more than just what is written in a book or journal.

From my classes I can tell you that I was given all the information I needed to pass an exam, but the perception that I gained from the Lecturers, like Mr. Vishal Ganessingh and Mrs. Natalie Baird-Humphrey that spoke earlier, is that they were as passionate as they were knowledgeable about what they were teaching and always willing to go that extra distance to not only implant the basic information into my mind but to also nourish it,… which allowed this information to grow into independent ideas, thoughts and concepts about what I was learning and which opened the door for a deeper understanding of what I was being taught. It was such that their experiences became  your experiences and what they understood and what they themselves learnt, you were able to learn and understand and even if the course of study was not directly about Food Science it was always delivered in such a way as to bring it back to our field of interest, Food, which in turn kept us students interested and passionate about what our minds were being offered and thus the process of learning became part of this experience that I spoke about earlier this unique experience that UTT and subsequently the Food Science and Technology unit are trendsetters in providing. And while this might be my personal opinion, after speaking to multiple persons and hearing of their experiences in different tertiary level institutions across a variety of fields, I am willing to say that this experience is unlike any other and second to none.

What also added to this were the people. The students firstly, such a culturally diverse group of individuals bringing experiences of their own from countries across the Caribbean and even as far as Ghana and including their perception, which in turn gave me the opportunity to build on what I knew or thought I did and learn and grow from someone else’s point of view.

In addition, the Food Science and Technology staff provided me with the most student-friendly environment that I have encountered thus far. The patience and guidance of the administrative staff, in particular Ms. Urshelle De Castro that planned and coordinated this meeting today and who is always available to assist students wherever possible or Mrs. Dimple Singh-Ackbarali, Senior Instructor who always goes out of her way to provide guidance to students no matter how busy she is and even our Programme Leader herself, Dr. Rohanie Maharaj who is always the biggest supporter of students and their development as young Entrepreneurs which is rightly significant being the Entrepreneurial campus (ECIAF/BAFT) of The University of Trinidad and Tobago.

It is this combination of information, perception, knowledge, experience and support that is offered through the Food Science Unit and the University as a whole that has distinguished it from all others in my mind and is what will facilitate and expand on the capabilities of any student that decides to take a step forward into the world of tertiary studies like I did almost four years ago and allow for a well-rounded and intellectually stimulated future in the world of Food Science and Food Technology.

Thank You.